Marketing

SECTION 5

People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.

– Seth Godin

Whether you are getting ready to open a new shared site, expand your current client base, or attract new donors, it is important to develop a compelling message and a strong set of communication vehicles to motivate prospective participants, families, community organizations, donors, staff and volunteers to support your program. Even a wonderful program can’t survive if no one knows about it!

The concept of bringing generations together under one roof is relatively new in many communities and therefore presents both opportunities and challenges. In a time when loneliness has become an epidemic and ageism is negatively affecting all generations, highlighting the benefits of intergenerational relationships is a powerful message. Yet, parents and caregivers of older adults may be reluctant to have their family members engage in intergenerational programs due to health concerns. Donors may be cautious about investing in a new idea about which they know very little.

Marketing refers to a set of communication strategies created to influence key stakeholders. Marketing is not a single activity, but a PROCESS that needs to be sustained over time. It must be aligned with your organization’s vision, mission, and strategic plan. Even though you may have a person or department who is officially responsible for marketing, remember that EVERYONE is a marketer for your organization.

A strong marketing plan can help you:

Distinguish your organization’s purpose from other nonprofits
Generate earned revenue through programs and services
Develop relationships with other organizations
Expand your client base
Attract funders
Recruit staff and volunteers

For more information, click HERE.

5.1 Initial Marketing Steps

Identify Your Marketing Goals

What do you hope your marketing efforts will achieve? Goals and objectives should be specific, measurable, and aimed at results. For example:

To enroll 25 older people in our adult day care program and 45 children in our day care center by September 1.
To recruit 15 older adults from the retirement community to assist teachers in the Kindergarten classrooms.
To identify 3 additional Board members.
To launch 4 fundraising initiatives, resulting in $50,000.

Position Your Organization

What do you want to be known for?

What is it about your particular service or program that sets you apart from others?

Positioning is the process of finding your niche to demonstrate how you are different from other organizations that provide similar services.

A positioning statement is a concise description of your target market as well as a compelling picture of how you want that market to perceive your organization. Your positioning statement is an internal tool that can be used as a guidepost for your marketing efforts. It helps you maintain focus on your brand and its value proposition while you work on market strategy and tactics.

You can create a special niche in the aging or child-care network by emphasizing the unique features and benefits of your intergenerational site. Bringing generations together under one roof is what makes you different from other programs – the added value you bring to service delivery.

EXAMPLE: X Intergenerational Center

For families caring for children and/or older adults, the X Intergenerational Center is the only center in our community that offers services to both generations under the same roof. By fostering connections across age groups, our program enhances developmental, academic and functional skills, increases cross-age understanding, and builds a sense of community. It is a “win-win” for all!

For more information on creating your positioning statement, see this article.

Determine Your Overall Approach

A major decision you will have to make is related to your identity and the primacy of intergenerational engagement to your mission. There are multiple approaches you can take in marketing intergenerational shared sites, with varied emphases on the intergenerational component:

Focus on the uniqueness of your site as a place that intentionally builds intergenerational connections, while providing high-quality services to children and older adults.
Market the child-care and aging programs separately, focusing on the quality of each program and mentioning intergenerational activities as an added benefit.
Blend the two approaches, highlighting both the intergenerational dimension and the age-specific components.

Here are some descriptions found on the websites of existing shared sites. Take a moment to review them. Think about what you want to emphasize as you begin to develop your marketing plan.

EXAMPLE: St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care, Milwaukee, WI

Comprehensive intergenerational care for all ages & abilities!

St. Ann Center specializes in adult and child day services in a safe, homelike intergenerational setting, where compassion, care and dignity are key. We bring all ages together—from 6 weeks old to 100+. Youngsters learn to respect and socialize with all types of people, while older adults delight to the sights and sounds of children—making dozens of young, loving friends.

EXAMPLE: Providence Mount St. Vincent Intergenerational Learning Center, Seattle, WA

The Mount is a vibrant and innovative living care community for older adults that celebrates life, living and individual capability. As a resident or patient, you will be treated with dignity and respect and empowered to work hand in hand with us to develop a plan of care that supports you, fits your lifestyle and honors your needs, preferences and desires.

The intergenerational program is listed under a list of facility features:

The Intergenerational Learning Center, a licensed child care center for infants and young children. Five days a week, children, residents and patients have the opportunity to interact in planned activities such as music, art and storytelling and to engage in conversation and spontaneous encounters throughout our campus.

EXAMPLE: Kingsley House, New Orleans, LA

Kingsley House educates children, strengthens families & builds community.

At Kingsley House, we envision a city and region where all young children are ready to succeed and all citizens are healthy and economically stable. Recognizing that vulnerable families are at risk of being caught in an intractable cycle of poverty, we are committed to ensuring that individuals and families have the supports necessary to be successful at all stages of life. To accomplish our goals, we join forces with dedicated community partners. Collectively, we work with families to fuel economic growth and social change in our city, state and region.

Tips!

If you are partnering with another organization serving a different population, it is important to collectively determine how to position the collaboration in terms of joint and separate marketing efforts.
Before you determine where you’re going from a marketing perspective, it’s essential to evaluate where you’ve been. If you have been operating an intergenerational shared site, adult services, or child day care for a while, to what extent are your current communications strategies helping you achieve your goals (e.g., increased enrollment, funding, community partnerships, volunteers)?

Conduct a Marketing Audit

If you have operated a shared site, adult services, or child day care for a while, to what extent are your current communications strategies helping you achieve your goals (e.g. increased enrollment, funding, community partnerships, volunteers)?

Are all of your strategies aligned and your messages consistent?

Are there things you can do to further highlight the intergenerational aspect of your shared site?

The following are some tools and materials you may want to review before moving forward:

“Branding”: Names/acronyms, taglines, logo, web domains, and structural relationships. Consider trademarking your brand to protect its integrity.
Digital tools: Website, email lists, e-newsletters, social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), blogs, audio and video, presentations, apps, and other virtual resources
Collateral materials: Printed and other tangible resources such as brochures, flyers, newsletters, reports, and other take-aways or swag
Concepts: Mission statements, intermediate goals, audience identification and targeting, messaging
Public relations efforts: Story ideas and development, media relations, quotes, press releases and story pitches, graphics and data, media events/actions, and results metrics
Paid advertising: TV/radio, newspaper, shoppers, specialty publications for seniors or parents, digital ads, listings in directories or on local blogs (parenting or eldercare)
In-person efforts: Sharing your collateral materials at community health fairs, street fairs, parent resource fairs, or health professionals’ conferences; speaking at senior citizen centers, church groups, service organizations, or meetings of other nonprofits

For more information, click HERE.

5.2 Target Audiences

It is important to know exactly who is most likely to benefit from your services and programs as well as who is most likely to financially support your efforts – remember that what resonates with one audience may be less important to another.

Who are you trying to reach through your marketing efforts?

Older adults and/or their caregivers
Parents and/or caregivers of young children
Potential donors
Community organizations that could be referral sources
Neighborhood residents
The community at large
Others

What do you know about your key stakeholders?

From your community assessment, you should have a better idea of what would motivate each target audience to use your services. If you didn’t conduct stakeholder surveys, interviews, or focus groups, NOW is the time to do so. By listening to your constituents, donors, and others in the community you serve, you will gain information about exactly what type of services and programs are most valuable to them and the best way to communicate with them. Developing a deep understanding of how your key stakeholders think, feel, and act is a critical part of building an effective nonprofit marketing plan.

For each of your target audiences, try answering these questions:

What are the demographics of this group? (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, income)?
What do they need from an organization like yours?
What do they see as the benefits and challenges of an intergenerational shared site?
What is the best way to communicate with them?

5.3 Messaging

Core Messages

Once you have a better understanding of your key stakeholders, you can begin to develop both core and targeted messages – the main points you need your stakeholders to hear, understand, and remember. These messages will inform your website and social media activities as well as help everyone on your team portray your organization accurately.

Ask yourself: What do you want your key stakeholders to think, feel, and do as a result of your efforts?

Example: We want older adults living in our retirement community to get actively involved in intergenerational activities. We want them to have fun, be stimulated, and feel good about themselves because they are helping children.

The message you develop and the visuals you use should reflect these ideas. Once you develop your core message, you can begin working on other branding activities (e.g., deciding on a name, logo, call to action).

Tips!

Communicate how your program will meet the needs of older adults and children.
Create an emotional connection with your audience and be authentic.
Use photos that reflect the power of intergenerational relationships. Put your most important message in the caption of the photo.
Show how your organization is different from other organizations offering similar services.
Highlight the power of intergenerational connections through photos, stories, and testimonials.
Make sure your message is aligned with your mission, vision, values, and goals.
Use language that is easy to understand.

EXAMPLE: The following are some taglines used by current intergenerational shared sites

St. Ann Center: “At St. Ann Center, no one is alone and everyone is celebrated”

Ebenezer Ridges: “Care that bridges the generation gap”

ONEgeneration: “Enriching the lives of children and their families”

Benevilla: “A better quality of life for everyone at every age”

Photo: Benevilla

Targeted Messages

In addition to creating a core message, it is critical to develop specific messaging that resonates with each of your target populations. How will each group of stakeholders benefit from your program? What features are important to them? What is the call to action? What is the best way to reach them?

Download Word Version >

Target Groups	Target Messages — What we do. What makes us unique? What are the benefits of intergenerational care? How can we meet your needs/priorities?
Parents
Caregivers of older adults
Older adults
Funders
Community-Based Organizations
Staff
Community at large

It is also important to understand the ways people prefer to receive information. Older adults may look to newspapers, word-of-mouth, social groups, doctor’s offices, and print ads for information, whereas younger parents may use social media more frequently.

5.4 Communication Vehicles

There is a wide range of communication vehicles you can use to publicize your shared site. If each program component (e.g., adult day care, child care, assisted living) is marketed to a separate audience, make sure the intergenerational aspect is highlighted in all material. It is important to create a marketing budget that will inform decisions about which strategies you use and how much you can invest.

Digital Tools

Website:

Your website will serve as one of the primary vehicles for communicating your core message and the services you offer. While social media is invaluable for outreach, you have no control over its algorithms or appearance. You OWN your website, and it’s a perfect place to highlight the intergenerational aspect of your site through compelling stories, testimonials, and photographs. You’ll frequently refer to your site via flyers, brochures, ads, social media, and business cards, so make sure it’s easy to navigate and read, with attractive photos and graphics.

Here are some sample websites from existing intergenerational shared sites:

Videos:

Once you have been operating for a while, consider creating a short video that reflects the powerful relationships formed between children and older adults. People will lose interest if these are too long! Videos can live on your website and/or be uploaded to social media channels, linked to in your email signatures, or used at speaking engagements, fundraisers, health fairs, and other events. They are an especially valuable asset to show prospective clients, referrers, donors, and potential partners or funders.

Take a look at some of the videos created by current shared sites:

Tips!

If you don’t have the financial resources to create a high-quality video, consider the following ideas:

Email Lists and E-Newsletters:

Email is an effective marketing strategy for maintaining regular contact with your supporters, volunteers, clients, and caregivers. While social media can be an important and engaging tool for communication, it’s estimated that any Facebook post is only seen by about 20% of your total audience. Don’t rely on it alone to keep your stakeholders informed about your progress, major events, and funding needs. Give your emails a compelling subject line – not just “Name of Organization Quarterly Update” – to encourage people to open them. Incorporate photos and attractive designs to help break up blocks of text. Digital newsletters that highlight stories, testimonials, and updates on your organization can also help people feel connected to your site.

Social Media:

Social media is a great vehicle for connecting with new and existing audiences, bringing attention to your work, and building your brand. Since you will need to reach out to multiple stakeholders of different ages and backgrounds, create a social media strategy that includes several platforms; however, concentrate initially on building up one or two of these platforms to build momentum, rather than trying to start on every social media platform there is!

Each social media channel has specific strengths and reaches different demographics, so it is important to be clear about WHO you are trying to reach and WHAT you are trying to achieve. Use the analytics and insights on each platform to see what works best to engage your audience – what type of content they like, and what days and times of day to post. Also, determine who on your team will be responsible for monitoring and interacting with users on social media each day.

Facebook can be used to highlight intergenerational interaction and tell compelling STORIES about the people who benefit from your work. Facebook users are open to reading and digesting content. Many shared sites ask teachers/staff to take photos and then post them to the organization’s social media page and website. You may also want to consider identifying moms’ groups you could interact with and using Facebook’s fundraising tools to collect donations. Facebook pushes Pages’ Events higher in the algorithm than ordinary posts; this is a great free way to publicize a variety of events. You can also pay for Facebook advertising to boost a post amongst your followers or people of similar demographics.

Twitter is best for sharing updates and news; many nonprofits find it an effective way to connect and build relationships with journalists in specialty areas, like parenting, science, and health, as well as potential funders. It can also help position your organization as an expert in those areas. Content needs to be short and to the point. Use trending hashtags to get your tweets included in relevant conversations.

Media-sharing sites like Instagram, YouTube, and Vimeo are effective in painting a visual picture of your services/programs and making an emotional connection with the audience. Don’t overlook LinkedIn, which isn’t just a career-networking site, but also helps to position your organization as an expert in child and aging issues through the use of hashtags and focused conversation groups.

Also, Yelp and GoogleMyBusiness, while not traditionally thought of as social media, act as location-specific social media where users can leave reviews. NextDoor can also be help target your neighbors to publicize events and services.

Tips!

Include a visual with every post. Use your phone’s photo editing or free online editing software to make your photos as appealing as possible by fixing lighting, cropping, removing red-eye, etc. You can also create Facebook Live videos which are pushed up higher in the algorithms and can generate excitement about what’s happening RIGHT NOW at your location.
Change and rotate your photos and banner regularly.
Humanize and customize your visual images. Try using free apps like Canva and Pablo by Buffer that let you put inspirational quotes on images (your own or theirs) to make appealing graphics for social media and flyers. This is a nice change of pace from simply photos, and no artistic ability is required!
Determine what your “voice” should be on your channels - Formal? Informal? Playful? Having a voice and personality helps shape your identity, so people know they want to hear more from you. You want to sound human and approachable (not like a bot) in both your posts and your responses to comments. And DO reply to those comments/questions – conversation increases engagement.
Monitor your accounts and engage with other organizations or people who share your posts or tag/mention your organization. If your organization is mentioned in a newspaper story or on a local TV station, share that on your social media with a link to the article/broadcast, and tag the newspaper/station’s Facebook page.
Don’t just regard your social media as a chance to promote yourself – that’s boring! Instead, make it a point to share links to interesting articles published elsewhere about concepts your organization emphasizes (e.g., a medical site’s post about how isolation harms health, an AARP article about why children need interaction with grandparents).
Encourage followers to “tag” others who might be interested in a specific post or video in order to increase your online social media followers.
Ensure you have photo releases from parents, caregivers, and/or older adults. This can be easiest to obtain if you make it part of the paperwork upon enrollment.

For more information, visit the New York Times guide How to Use Social Media in Your Career.

Blogs:

Blogging is another way to raise awareness of your organization’s services. This tool provides opportunities to share information with potential clients, donors, and/or volunteers. Having a blog on your website also refreshes its content regularly – so long as you post regularly to it! – which helps search engines recognize your website as valid and push it closer to the top of search results when people are trying to find your services. You might want to use your blog to promote upcoming events, feature stories about older adults or children who have benefitted from your program, or share your views on issues related to aging, caregiving, or child development. You can also consider advertising your program on other relevant blogs, such as those related to parenting, caregiving, Alzheimer’s, and child development.

Collateral Materials

Printed Material:

Printed materials such as informational brochures and flyers, newsletters, infographics, annual reports, and other take-aways/swag (e.g.,branded magnets, keychains) are an important part of your marketing efforts. Make sure to tell compelling stories about the benefits of intergenerational connections.

St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care Bucyrus Campus Brochure

Direct Mail:

Consider sending out postcards to your mailing list, community organizations, and residents in your target zip codes. This can be particularly helpful when you are planning your opening or launching a new service.

Events and Presentations

Open-houses and tours of your shared site provide potential clients, donors, neighborhood residents and community organizations the opportunity to see your intergenerational work in action. Talking to staff and participants can generate enthusiastic support. Be sure to tailor tours of your facility to each group’s particular interest.

Invitation to the opening of the St. Ann Center Bucyrus Campus

Tips!

Make sure you are respectful of your participants, particularly older adults. Some may not want to be observed or asked to engage in conversations with visitors. Kingsley House in New Orleans offers a small incentive to older adults who agree to participate in tours.
People touring an intergenerational facility want to see intergenerational activities; be mindful and schedule tours during a time when that can happen, rather than at children’s nap time or the final hour before closing when attendance is low.

Fundraising Activities

Many shared sites sponsor a range of social events that generate revenue and expand their visibility in the community. ONEGeneration in Los Angeles sponsors an Intergenerational Fashion Show and an Intergenerational Walk, as well as their weekly Farmer’s Market. Getting people through the door – even if they don’t need your services today – gives them an inside look at the facility. Set up a strategically located table with brochures or flyers, staffed with friendly faces to answer questions about day-to-day activities.

Shoppers at the ONEgeneration Farmer’s Market.

Media Coverage

Radio, television, and articles in local newspapers are great vehicles for promoting your shared site. Think about using public service announcements, appearing on radio talk shows, and/or getting a local TV station to cover your “grand opening” or other major events. It is important to build relationships with media champions to stay in the public eye.

If you are fortunate enough to get the attention of a PBS station, you may be able to have a documentary produced, like this one that highlights the intergenerational classrooms at Grace Living Center in Jenks, OK.

Personal Contacts/Word of Mouth

Building relationships with local health care and education professionals can increase the number of referrals you receive. St. Ann Center utilizes a number of effective strategies, including hosting luncheon meetings for community groups, visiting health clinics with informational packets, and sending personal invitations to referral sources to visit their facility.

Additional Promotion Ideas

Create a Referral Incentive Program for current families enrolled in your program and staff.
Sponsor caregiver support groups that might attract potential clients.
Build relationships with Employee Assistance Programs, labor unions, elder law firms, and corporate retiree groups.
Become involved in local child-care, education, or aging networks as a way of promoting your center’s reputation.

5.5 Implementing and Assessing Your Plan

The biggest challenge for many non-profits is how to put the systems in place to ensure that their marketing plans will be implemented. Some organizations hire a marketing consultant, while others form a marketing committee composed of Board members, staff, and volunteers. It is important to assign tasks to both paid staff and volunteers and establish a marketing calendar to accomplish your goals. Analyzing your marketing performance is also critical. Learn what is working and not working so that you can reallocate your budget and invest in the most successful strategies.

Tips!

Make communicating about intergenerational programming a routine practice that is part of daily, weekly, and monthly updates.
Educate parents about the benefits of intergenerational interaction and minimize their fears about people with dementia.
Get parents and caregivers involved in marketing to their networks. Ask them to write a review on your Facebook page, or on Yelp or Google to help promote the program.
Make sure you set up your Yelp and GoogleMyBusiness pages. They are free, although they may ask you to pay for ads to increase your visibility.
Try waiving your enrollment fee for a short period or give a free week so parents can try out child care.
Reach out to your business community. Organizations such as Rotary or the Chamber of Commerce can provide great networking opportunities.
Tap into connections you already have. For example, if you’re a religiously-oriented organization, reach out to denominational publications for free news coverage, or talk to local faith leaders about a mention in their bulletin.
Nominate your shared site for community awards. Publicize awards when you win – send out a press release, write about them on your blog and social media, include them in brochures, hang the awards in a prominent space in your building, and mention them when relevant in other news stories.
Apply to become a Generations United Program of Distinction, a seal of approval that recognizes excellence in intergenerational programming
Measure your success. Track which website pages get the most traffic. Track the number of news stories published about your organization each year, and where they appear.

The need for human connection is a biological and social imperative; loneliness is a warning signal to satisfy that need by seeking out other human beings.

Marketing

SECTION 5

People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.

5.1 Initial Marketing Steps

Identify Your Marketing Goals

Position Your Organization

EXAMPLE: X Intergenerational Center

Determine Your Overall Approach

EXAMPLE: St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care, Milwaukee, WI

EXAMPLE: Providence Mount St. Vincent Intergenerational Learning Center, Seattle, WA

EXAMPLE: Kingsley House, New Orleans, LA

Tips!

Conduct a Marketing Audit

5.2 Target Audiences

5.3 Messaging

Core Messages

Tips!

EXAMPLE: The following are some taglines used by current intergenerational shared sites

Targeted Messages

5.4 Communication Vehicles

Digital Tools

Tips!

Tips!

Collateral Materials

Events and Presentations

Tips!

Fundraising Activities

Media Coverage

Personal Contacts/Word of Mouth

Additional Promotion Ideas

5.5 Implementing and Assessing Your Plan

Tips!

5.6 Marketing Plan Template

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